Welcome to the End
by ProudBadger
Summary: No one is safe in the end of the world. A new disease has spread, killing mercilessly and raising the dead, leaving a harsh world in it's wake. Follow Lili and her fellow nations as they travel across Europe looking for their loved ones and learning what it truly means to survive. Contains death and violence. Human names used.


Lili never thought it would be like this. There was a new disease and people panicked like people so often do. But before it had become clear what the disease was people were more relaxed, they were confidant a vaccine would be developed. Oh how they were wrong. For now the dead were walking among the living.

When Vash first realized what exactly was happening he and Lili had packed everything they'd need, including every knife and gun the pair owned. Together they traveled, never staying more than two days in one place- that was a rule. Lili watched as Vash marked out a route for them to follow. During this Vash made Lili do many things; drive the truck, syphon gas from abandoned cars, even kill many of them- the dead ones.

They learned quickly what it took for them to survive. The most important rule was to trust no one.

"But I can trust you, right?" Lili asked quietly one night.

"Only me and yourself." Vash answered.

And that was the way it was for two months. For two months they traveled, scavenged, and survived together.

Now they were on the outskirts of a new group. Vash was going over car repairs with Lili, triple checking that she knew everything she would ever need to know. Lili was repairing the car herself, with Vash's watchful eyes on her.

"You're doing good," he said.

"I learned from the best," she replied.

That earned her a smile, one that was only ever saved for her, but it faded as soon as gunshots echoed through the air. Vash was quick to move. He threw Lili his jacket and pull the large bag on her shoulder. "Run and hide," he breathed before turning towards the gunshots and shrieks with his own gun drawn.

Lili didn't hesitate on his orders. She ran quickly easily getting to the spot Vash had showed her when they first arrived. She squatted down, pistol clutched in her hand. She listened to the noises, flinching slightly when she heard the gunshots near where she had been- where Vash was now.

But she stayed crouched in her hiding spot, until the noise had died at which point she still waited. That was another rule. When she finally felt it was safe enough to emerge, Lili did so cautiously. Her hand was white from the clutch she held on the gun and her entire body threatened to shake with fear. And she knew that the gunshots would draw the dead to her.

The sight that she arrived to was not a pretty one. There were seven bodies on the ground. Six of which had a single bullet hole and were unfamiliar. The seventh and most important had multiple wounds. The ground around Vash had been stained red and his breaths were quick and uneven.

"V-Vash…" Lili said, her voice hitched and tears pricked at her eyes. She deposited the bag and jacket to kneel next to her brother.

"Lili," he said weakly. "I need you to listen to me very carefully." She nodded and took his hand, holding it tightly. "Lili I need you to kill me then leave. You can't bury me you just have to go."

Lili froze and her tears started to fall. "What? I-"

"Lili," Vash cut her off. "Shoot me and leave. Follow the map and trust your instincts."

A sob ripped through her, "Vash I can't…"

"Lili," he said again, "please."

The last word held her. Vash was never one to plead for anything. So, wiping her tears she gripped her gun tighter and raised it. She hated that the last thing Vash would see would be her holding a gun to his head. "I-I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he replied. Then Lili pulled the trigger.

The next thing she did was vomit. She vomited until her stomach was completely empty, and the tears wouldn't stop. She sat sobbing for a minute before the growls slowly grew and she was forced to leave. Even then she cried while she checked and packed the truck, she cried while she went through Vash's pockets, and she kept crying as she drove away.

Lili tried to control her tears, but they kept flowing. Her mind kept returning to Vash's corpse, with the bullet hole in his head. The guilt ate at her heart. It was her fault he had gotten shot in the first place, if it wasn't for her then Vash would still be alive and she wouldn't be alone. But if it wasn't for him she'd be dead. She owed him everything.

She pulled over suddenly and flung the door open to vomit again, finding that her stomach wasn't quite empty until now. Then she wiped her eyes as she had finally managed to cry herself out. Lili then shut the door and drove off again. She drove through the night only stopping once to refuel the truck. She nibbled a bit of food while she drove, following the ration system Vash had put in place. And she tried not to start crying again.

The next morning before dawn had fully broken the sky, Lili pulled the truck over and decided to try to at least get a few minutes of sleep. But her dreams were plagued with visions of Vash's corpse. She woke up to her own screams and a dead one hitting the side of her truck. Drenched in sweat with fresh tears pricking at her eyes, Lili started the truck and drove quickly away, she never wanted to close her eyes again.

A little while later Lili saw something on the side of the road which made her stop the truck. Two men were standing next to a RV. Two men that Lili recognized.

She jumped from the truck and ran to them, straight into the shorter man's arms.

"Gilbert!" She choked out.

"Hey Lili," he said with a slight smile. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Gilbert…" she said again, her breath hitching as tears started to fall.

"Shh Lili, it'll be okay," he said, squeezing her in a tight hug, "everything will be okay now." But Lili shook her head as Gilbert and Ludwig locked eyes, they understood one thing. Something had happened to Vash.


End file.
